America's North Shore Journal

Photo of a new mall that opened today, July 17, 2010. If there “are no building materials allowed into Gaza” how did they build this shopping center? Photo by Tom Gross

Tom Gross has been writing about the misinformation coming out of Gaza for some time. His photos illustrate that the poverty and misery of the people living in the Gaza Strip may be just a little be exaggerated.

A little research on the Internet and I have found some statistics, from Palestinian and international sources, that seem to suggest the same conclusion. For example, there are a lot of unemployed in Gaza. Click for a larger chart.

I know what it’s like to be unemployed. finding something to do must be very difficult amidst the poverty in the Gaza Strip.

Besides watching television, playing on the Internet or talking on your cellphone. Click on the graphs for a larger version.

Of course, if these poor, impoverished people could read, they could read books to kill the time while they’re unemployed.

94.9% of adult Gaza residents are literate.
31.5% of households have Internet access.
93.2% of households own a television set.
83.8% of households are connected to a public sewer system.

Take some time to go through Tom Gross’s website. Many of the photos are from Palestinian and news wire sources, not just his own work. We just are not seeing these photos.

The statistics used in this report were found at the following sites:

CIA World Factbook – Gaza Strip

Palestine National Authority – Palestine in Figures 2009

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